Green Halloween Festival scares up fun, frights
October 23, 2012
The leaves around Issaquah may form an autumnal rainbow of yellows, reds and browns, but it’s going to be a green Halloween as the Issaquah Highlands Council gets set to celebrate the 12th annual Green Halloween Festival on Oct. 27.
The festival gets its name through its partnership with Green Halloween, a locally founded movement to make all holidays healthier and more sustainable, said Christy Garrard, Highlands Council special events planner.
“We partnered with Green Halloween because it really fit with the built green philosophy of the Issaquah Highlands urban village concept,” she said.
The outdoor, family-friendly festival kicks off with a bang at noon, when dancers of all ages will gather in front of Blakely Hall for Thrill the World, a worldwide attempt to break the record for the largest simultaneous dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
Festival attendees are encouraged to try their best zombie impression and join in on the iconic dance routine.
Klahanie food drive, pumpkins return for 24th year
October 9, 2012
In the span of 23 years, local Realtor Bob Richards has collected more than 80 tons of food for the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank, through his annual food drive held in Klahanie.
Richards started the food drive after reading that the local food bank needed some assistance many years ago.
“I ran across an article that the Issaquah food bank was struggling at the time and we just made a decision to do our part, and it’s just kept going, and this will be the 24th consecutive year,” he said.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints drive replenishes Issaquah’s food bank
October 2, 2012
On Sept. 15, nearly 1,000 families and individuals in four cities on the Eastside participated in the annual Day of Service Northwest, sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Part of the effort involved two Latter-day Saint congregations in Issaquah, the Issaquah First and the Tiger Mountain Wards, who worked side by side with members of the community to donate and collect food that was given to the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank.
“We are thrilled with the continued responsiveness of residents of Issaquah, who gave of their time and resources to provide a critical need,” said Robert C. Johnson, president of the Bellevue South Stake.
Students grow vegetables for Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank
September 25, 2012
Isabella and Alexandra Mohn examine the day’s tomato harvest. By Lillian O’Rorke
It’s a sunny early autumn afternoon and in between attending Sunday school and running off to soccer games and other fun pastimes, several local youths gather to harvest food for the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank.
“Digging the potatoes — it’s really fun,” Alexandra Mohn, 9, said.
She, her twin sister Isabella and about a dozen other children from their church, Spirit of Peace United Church of Christ, which meets at the Pine Lake Community Center in Sammamish, have been tending a garden for months, and with the leadership of Wally Prestbo have grown more than 225 pounds of fresh vegetables for the food bank.
“It’s a culmination of my interest in gardening and wanting to have a mission for the children of the church,” said Prestbo, who grew up on a small farm in the Spokane Valley.
Eastside Baby Corner searches for next leader
September 25, 2012
Eastside Baby Corner is on the hunt for a leader after founder and volunteer Executive Director Karen Ridlon announced plans to step back from the role.
The nonprofit organization is working with Issaquah-based recruiting firm Prothman Co. to find Ridlon’s successor. The firm spearheaded searches for Issaquah’s city administrator and the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank’s executive director.
Eastside Baby Corner collects community donations, and purchases and distributes children’s and maternity items to families in need.
Church members rise to challenge of building homes in Mexico
September 11, 2012
Volunteers from Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, in Issaquah, staple tar paper and chicken wire to the exterior wall of a new home before applying stucco during their mission to Tecate, Mexico, in July. Contributed
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church members recently returned from a weeklong mission in Tecate, Mexico, where 14 volunteers began building a house.
This is the 12th year of the mission and Karen Stillwell has been involved since the beginning. In those years, the Issaquah church has helped with more than 15 homes in the community. Stillwell said the town has gone from all-dirt roads to almost all of them being paved and has expanded tremendously.
“We detect a huge community spirit there now,” church member Jeff Matson said.
The mission started as a youth group opportunity for high school-aged students but this year only five young people participated.
“The adults get such a kick out of it. They really enjoy it,” Matson said.
For families to qualify for a house, they must be living in the community and wanting to stay there. One parent must have a job and the tenants must have bought the property. The family this year wasn’t sure who exactly would be moving into the new house.
CenturyLink donates to Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank
August 14, 2012
CenturyLink employees and community members collected 313,665 pounds of food for local food banks, including the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank, in a recent campaign.
The 2012 CenturyLink Feed the Children Backpack Buddies Food Drive ran nationwide from June 25-29. Organizers announced the results Aug. 9.
The nonprofit CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation also contributed $1 million to the drive.
Because food banks can purchase food at a lower cost per pound than the average person could at a store — estimated on average to be 6 pounds of food per $1 given — the foundation estimated the monetary donations could be used to purchase more than 7.7 million pounds of food to food banks across the United States.
CenturyLink donates to Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank
August 13, 2012
NEW — 1 p.m. Aug. 13, 2012
CenturyLink employees and community members collected 313,665 pounds of food for local food banks, including the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank, in a recent campaign.
The 2012 CenturyLink Feed the Children Backpack Buddies Food Drive ran nationwide from June 25-29. Organizers announced the results Aug. 9.
The nonprofit CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation also contributed $1 million to the drive.
Because food banks can purchase food at a lower cost per pound than the average person could at a store — estimated on average to be 6 pounds of food per $1 given — the foundation estimated the monetary donations could be used to purchase more than 7.7 million pounds of food to food banks across the United States.
Press Editorial
August 7, 2012
School supplies for 1,000 children
It’s many of these same students who will be the recipients of the 1,000 backpacks stuffed with school supplies that the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank and other community service groups are providing. That’s double the number of recent years.
Every parent or guardian knows that school supplies are not a small expense. First, there is the backpack. One sturdy enough to last the year can cost $20 to $25. Thankfully, the employees at SanMar have committed to supply 1,000 backpacks.
Japanese students travel 5,700 miles to volunteer in Pickering Garden
August 7, 2012
Falaah Jones (right), garden coordinator from Seattle Tilth, teaches visiting Japanese students about gardening at the city’s Pickering Garden on July 27. Contributed
The Pickering Garden had some unique visitors July 27, more than 20 students from Okinawa, Japan.
The students are part of a summer homestay program through Cultural Homestay International. They will spend one month with host families exploring the Puget Sound area. On their third day, they volunteered at the Pickering Garden with Falaah Jones, garden coordinator from Seattle Tilth. It was the students’ first visit to the United States.
Risa Kamiya and Showei Mori said they like the forest, trees and mountains covered with snow, something they have never seen before. Host families have one or two students in their home at a time.
“Everyone learns,” tour coordinator Cathy Kramer said. “It’s a great opportunity.”
The Japanese students didn’t know each other before the trip but Kramer said they made friends very quickly. Each day, the students have three-hour classes to learn about English and culture.
